Azertyuiop was a French-bred

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

racehorse, who specialised in two-mile steeplechases. He won the Arkle Challenge Trophy at the 2003

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Ra ...

, going on to win the

Queen Mother Champion Chase The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. As part of a sponsorship agreement with the onl ...

the following year, and then coming home third in the same race in 2005. He was trained by Paul Nicholls and was ridden by

Ruby Walsh Rupert Walsh (born 14 May 1979 in Kill, County Kildare, Ireland) is an Irish former jockey. He is the second child, and eldest son, of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and his wife Helen. Walsh is the third most prolific winner in Brit ...

in every chase bar one. He is owned by John Hales who also owned One Man, who won the 1998

and the 1995 and 1996

King George VI Chase The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of ...

. His name derives from the top row of letters on the French keyboard layout.

Hurdling

Azertyuiop won a hurdle at Auteuil, Paris in October 2000. He then went to

Wincanton Wincanton ( or ) is a small town and electoral ward in South Somerset, southwest England. The town lies off the A303 road, a main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry. The town and electoral ward has a populati ...

in February and won the

Kingwell Hurdle The Kingwell Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Wincanton over a distance of about 2 miles (1 mile, 7 furlong ...

as a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

. That year's renewal had a slightly substandard look to it. The runner-up Hors La Loi III was in the middle of a poor run of form. Azertyuiop was due to be aimed at the Cheltenham Festival's

Triumph Hurdle The Triumph Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 f ...

rather than the Champion Hurdle. However, the

2001 UK foot and mouth crisis The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom in 2001 caused a crisis in British agriculture and tourism. This epizootic saw 2,000 cases of the disease in farms across most of the British countryside. Over 6 million cows and ...

ended the hopes of the Festival taking place. In the 2001-02 season, he won one hurdle race, the Elite Hurdle, and was well beaten in his other three races. He started the next season as a novice chaser.

Chasing

Azertyuiop went into the 2003 Arkle Challenge Trophy as a short-priced favourite having won his three novice chases by at least 16 lengths. He won the Arkle by 11 lengths. In 2003-04, his form was mixed. He unseated Walsh in his first race and then lost to

Moscow Flyer Moscow Flyer (10 May 1994 – 21 October 2016) was an Irish-bred and -trained National Hunt horse who ran over distances between 2 miles and 2½ miles (3.2–4 km). A top-class horse, he won the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2003 and ...

in the

Tingle Creek Chase The Tingle Creek Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 2 miles (1 mil ...

. His third race was a defeat to Isio in the Victor Chandler Handicap Chase. However, Azertyuiop was giving away nineteen pounds to the winner and twenty to the others. His

prep race was at Newbury in the Game Spirit Chase, and he won by 12 lengths. The scene was set for a meeting at Cheltenham with the reigning Champion Chase winner

. However, the latter made a terrible mistake at the fourth last fence and unseated

Barry Geraghty Barry Geraghty (born 16 September 1979) is a retired Irish jockey. He is the second most successful jockey of all time at the Cheltenham Festival. Geraghty rode his first winner in January 1997 and three years later he became the Irish Champio ...

. Azertyuiop won by 9 lengths from the 2002 champion Flagship Uberalles. In 2004-05, he won his seasonal reappearance and then lost again to

in the

. His next race was a bid by his trainer to win the 3 miles

. Azertyuiop's stamina gave out in the latter stages of the race, and he finished third. He then defeated his successor as Arkle Challenge Trophy winner, Well Chief, in retaining the Game Spirit Chase. The scene was set for a battle between him,

, and Well Chief in the

. However, he made a very bad mistake at the water jump. Azertyuiop came in third. He finished the season by finishing second to Well Chief at Sandown in the Betfred Celebration Chase. Early in the 2005/2006 season, he suffered an injury which kept him off the course. The injury proved to be career ending, and Azertyuiop was retired on 8 September 2006.

References

External links

Azertyuiop at paulnichollsracing.com
{dead link, date=October 2016 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes 1997 racehorse births Cheltenham Festival winners Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom National Hunt racehorses Non-Thoroughbred racehorses